Instrument for checking the punched cards used in accounting and statistical machines



May 26, 1964 E. GlROTTl 3, INSTRUMENT FOR CHECKING THE PUNCHED CARDS USED IN ACCOUNTING AND STATISTICAL MACHINES Filed May 3, 1960 INVENTOR. F/V/P/CO G/ROT 77 A TTO PNEXS United States Patent 3,134,839 INSTRUMENT FOR CHECKING THE PUNCHED CARDS USED IN ACOUNTING AND STATISTl- CAL MACHINES Enrico Girotti, Via Sahotina 22, Rome, Italy Filed May 3, 1960, Ser. No. 26,562 Claims priority, application Italy May 5, 1959 4 @lairns. (Cl. 88-44) In administrative and statistical data processing work with punched-card electrical accounting machines, the tabulating of data must be preceded by the sorting of cards having the perforations in the same and identical position.

Despite the high degree of perfection attained by sorting machines, the operators still have to check that all sorted cards are perforated in the same and precise position.

This checking is at present done in two operations: squaring each stack of cards extracted from the delivery rack of the sorting machine and then lifting with the hands each stack of cards, holding it up to a light source and then sighting through the perforation to be checked to make sure that such perforation is in alignment through the entire stack of cards being checked.

As it is known, this operation must be repeated hundreds of times a day, requiring a considerable expenditure of effort which always affects the accuracy of the work.

The present invention solves the problem of making the checking of cards easier and faster by eliminating the effort involved in lifting and sighting the card stacks and doubling or even trebling the individual production because the checking is done simultaneously with the squaring of each stack of cards, an operation which is neces sary in any case. According to one embodiment of the invention, these results, as well as others which will be described below, are obtained by using an instrument which comprises a flat base frame upon which is mounted a movable card holder, which can be fixed in any card column position, while two sighting devices, one of which carries a light source, are fixed to opposite sides of the base frame.

The structure and operation of the instrument will be evident from the following description and by referring to the enclosed drawings which represents, as a non-limiting example, one preferred embodiment hereof. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the instrument;

FIG. 2 is a modified form of the instrument shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the instrument illustrated in FIG. 1, with a stack of cards to be checked.

The instrument (FIGS. 1 and 3) carries a base table 5 of rectangular shape, to the sides of Which are attached two uprights 6 and 7 facing each other. The former has a vertical slot 8 and the latter a similar slot 9, behind which is placed a light source 19 and a small reflector 11 of metal sheet, suitably curved to increase the reflecting effect.

On base 5 is mounted a slidable angle table 13, 13', which can be moved lengthwise and is guided by ways 14. Parts 13 and 13' are respectively parallel and perpendicular to the base, and the latter carries on the outer face a turn button 15 fitted with a paWl which, engaging one of the notches 16 in the base of the instrument, locks angle table 13 in the desired position for the card column to be checked.

In the modified form shown in FIG. 2 the angle table 1313' is eliminated and the pair of uprights 6 and 7 can slide along ways 18 in the longitudinal edges of the base plate, which is fitted with a square lip 5', uprights 6 3,134,839 Patented May 26, 1964 and 7 being attached to each other by a plate 19 which can freely slide underneath base table 5, the latter being mounted on four feet 26 which keep it spaced from the surface on which it is placed.

The operation of the instrument is the following:

The pawl of turn button 15 is engaged into one of the notches 16 in such a position as to make the perforation to be checked coincide with the alignment between upright slots 8 and 9. To this end, it will be useful to number notches 16 to match the numbers shown on the cards and indicating the ordinates of the perforations.

The stack 21 of the cards to be checked is then laid on table 13, which is slightly longer than the card, making sure that the front end of each card fits tightly against the edge 13'.

Since the cards to be checked are normally placed on top of the tabulating machine, in order to sight visually through slots 8 and 9 the operator should either lift the instrument or lower his head, a fatiguing process when repeated a great number of times, it will be useful to adopt an arrangement whereby the beam of light which passes through slots 8 and 9 and all perforations of the card stack to meet after slot 8 a small prism, mounted in such a manner that it can be fixed with a pressure screw at a point of slot 8 which corresponds to the abscissa of the perforation to be checked (or fitting as many prisms as are the perforations), so that the beam is deviated and can be seen by the operators eye in his normal position, either standing or sitting before the tabulating machine.

Instead of one or more prisms it would be possible to use a mirror 20 (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1), mounted at, for instance, 45 to the upright 6, so that the beam is deflected in a vertical direction.

Thus, if it is desired to check the alignment of the perforation by a sound signal instead of a light signal, for instance in the case Where it is desired to have the check done by personnel handicapped in their sight, then it is possible to install, slidable along slot 8, a photoelectric cell which, when hit by the beam of light, will generate an electrical signal which, after proper amplification, will actuate the sound signal.

Since the proper operation of the instrument depends on the stack of cards 21 resting tight against the inner face of 13 (FIGS. 1 and 3) or of 5' (FIG. 2), according to a modified embodiment shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2, it is possible to fit to the inner face of the said angle plates 13 or 5' a tab recessed into the thickness of the plate and pushed outwards by a light spring, so that when the stack of cards is pushed against the said face, the tab closes a contact which energizes light source 10, guaranteeing that the cards are properly aligned to check the correctness of the perforations.

Even though only a few embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be evident to persons skilled in the art that other forms of embodiment are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for checking perforations of punched cards, comprising a base table, at least one upright located at one side of said base table and having an elongated vertical slot facing said base table, a source of light connected with said upright for projecting a beam of light through said slot across said base table, means located opposite said upright for receiving the projected beam of light, and card-engaging means connected with said base table, said upright and said card-engaging means being movable relatively to each other.

2. An apparatus for checking perforations of punched cards, comprising a base table, at least one upright connected to one side of said base table and having an elongated vertical slot facing said base table, a source of light connected with said upright for projecting a beam of light through said slot across said base table, said base table having longitudinal guides, an angular card-supporting table movable upon said guides transversely to said upright, a mirror connected to said table and located 0pposite said upright for receiving the light beam projected through said slot, and means carried by said angular table for locking it in one of a plurality of positions pon said base table.

3. An apparatus for checking perforations of punched cards, comprising a base table, an upright connected to one side of said base table and having an elongated vertical slot facing said base table, a source of light connected with said upright for projecting a beam of light through said slot across said base table, a reflector carried by said upright, another upright located opposite the first-mentioned upright and having a vertical slot alined with the first-mentioned slot, said base table having longitudinal guides, an angular card-supporting table movable upon said guides transversely to said uprights, said base table having a plurality of notches, and a pawl carried by said angular card-supporting table and adapted to engage any one of said notches for selectively locking said angular card-supporting table upon said base table.

4. An apparatus for checking perforations of punched cards, comprising a base table, a plate extending under said base table and slidable longitudinally relatively to said base table, and two uprights carried by said plate and located opposite each other above said base table, said uprights having alined vertical slots, a source of light connected With one of said uprights, a reflector carried by the last-mentioned upright for reflecting light from said source, said source projecting light through the slots of the two uprights, said base table having a perpendicular end portion adapted to engage a stack of punched cards.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,294,720 Dickinson Sept. 1, 1942 2,547,456 Gardiner Apr. 3, 1951 2,645,152 Martin July 14, 1953 2,693,734 Coleman et al Nov. 9, 1954 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR CHECKING PERFORATIONS OF PUNCHED CARDS, COMPRISING A BASE TABLE, AT LEAST ONE UPRIGHT LOCATED AT ONE SIDE OF SAID BASE TABLE AND HAVING AN ELONGATED VERTICAL SLOT FACING SAID BASE TABLE, A SOURCE OF LIGHT CONNECTED WITH SAID UPRIGHT FOR PROJECTING A BEAM OF LIGHT THROUGH SAID SLOT ACROSS SAID BASE TABLE, MEANS LOCATED OPPOSITE SAID UPRIGHT FOR RECEIVING THE PROJECTED BEAM OF LIGHT, AND CARD-ENGAGING MEANS CONNECTED WITH SAID BASE TABLE, SAID UPRIGHT AND SAID CARD-ENGAGING MEANS BEING MOVABLE RELATIVELY TO EACH OTHER. 